Relationship and Partnership Manager

Relationship and Partnership Manager Salary: £50k-55k Location: London/Hybrid - 2 days WFH and 3 days office FTC until March 2026 About CABS Chartered ABS is the representative body for the UK’s business school sector. Our award-winning team support our world-class business schools through lobbying, conferences, events, research, and national programmes such as the Help to Grow: Management Course. We are passionate about delivering a programme with a purpose. As the Relationship and Partnership Manager, you will play a critical role in making the UK-wide Help to Grow: Management programme a success. What is the Help to Grow: Management Course? The Help to Grow: Management Course is a nationwide leadership course created to help small business leaders boost their leadership skills and the performance of their business. It consists of 12 modules, 1-to-1 mentoring and a peer network. The course is delivered by more than 60 business schools across the UK who are members of the Chartered Association of Business Schools (Chartered ABS) and have been accredited with the Small Business Charter. The programme is promoted through a wide range of marketing activity which is delivered by the Chartered ABS Help to Grow: Management Demand Generation team and the business schools’ marketing teams. Small business leaders completing the course become members of the Help to Grow: Management Alumni Network, a network which will extend beyond the life of government funding for the course to become a continued source of support and growth for thousands of small business leaders. Over 10,000 business leaders have already enrolled on the course; this number grows by the week. About the role We are seeking an experienced and enthusiastic Relationship and Partnership Manager to join our team. You will be responsible for the full cycle of partnership development: finding and generating leads; building relationships; contracting; and account management. You will be responsible for ensuring partner opportunities are leveraged effectively across the various aspects of the Help to Grow: Management programme. In particular, with the Demand Generation Senior Stakeholder Manager to maximise the value of national partnerships at a regional and local level to increase Help to Grow: Management Course enrolments. You will also manage a range of stakeholders in the Chartered Association of Business Schools and the Small Business Charter. You will be responsible for realising the full collaborative potential of existing partnerships and finding new ways of delivering support to help our demand generation, business schools and alumni. For example, securing the use of partner venue facilities for events or arranging partner contacts to provide speakers for events or content . Principal Job Functions and Main Tasks We’re looking for a self-starter with great interpersonal and leadership skills and a collaborative approach who understands our mission and can build a strategic network of partnerships to help deliver that mission. You’ll be comfortable managing and prioritising your own workload; managing our new partner pipeline; ensuring we’re maintaining and strengthening our relationships with current partners; coming up with fresh ideas; and ensuring opportunities are communicated and embedded across all workstreams within the organisation. Add value to the programme as a whole, making the most of partnerships and collaborations with government agencies and third-parties organisations with similar missions/strategic goals. Work closely with senior stakeholders from across the organisation to improve transparency around stakeholder engagement and leveraging opportunities. Experience At least 5 years’ experience working in a partnership and/or relationship management role Experience of developing and building partnerships with external organisations Managing senior stakeholder relationships Project management. Ability to work to deadlines and schedule your timelines around project and company wide plans Account management and tracking performance and/or KPIs Experience of proposal and report writing. Reviewing terms and negotiating and securing contracts Skills Strong interpersonal skills – good relationship builder Strong public speaker who can create and deliver a great presentation Fluency in spoken and written English Excellent written and verbal communication – ability to write compelling commercial proposals and present proposals Ability to identify strategic opportunities through collaboration Ability to manage multiple and competing priorities Reviewing terms and negotiating and securing contracts Desire to develop and undertake training as required Willing to travel and work flexibly Ability to use CRM systems and use data to generate partner tracking reports and dashboards